The Uttar Pradesh government announced it has paid a record Rs 3,21,963 crore to sugarcane growers since 2017, emphasising on-time payments and direct transfers to farmers' accounts. The government highlighted initiatives like farm loan waivers and the 'Smart Ganna Kisan' system for online sugarcane management.
A 28-year-old man was killed by a tiger while working in his sugarcane field in Nandlalpurva village, Uttar Pradesh. Forest officials have advised locals to be alert and are attempting to capture the tiger.
Around 6,000 sugarcane farmers from across India held a massive protest in national capital New Delhi against the controversial Rangarajan Committee report. Former Army Chief V K Singh joined issue with the farmers and declared war against the government. Priyanka reports
The sources further said that the government has implemented a series of interventions in the past four months to provide relief to the sugarcane farmers and to ensure clearance of their dues.
The Indian government's decision to ban sugar exports until September 30 has drawn sharp criticism from the sugar industry and farmer leaders, who fear long-term negative impacts despite the stated aim of controlling domestic prices and ensuring availability.
Oil-marketing companies (OMCs) are set to significantly expand the sale of flex fuel (E85) across India, with plans to reach 5,000 outlets in major cities by the end of next year, according to Petroleum Minister Hardeep Singh Puri. This move aims to boost ethanol demand, reduce crude oil imports, and cut carbon emissions, coinciding with the launch of India's first flex-fuel vehicles by Maruti Suzuki and Hero MotoCorp.
Amid the political push and pull, the Centre's decision to allow sugar exports and remove the 50 per cent duty on molasses exports has rekindled hope in the industry that more relief may follow.
Actor-politician Vijay's TVK party is likely to form the government, bringing focus to their election promises, including gold for marriage, financial assistance for women, and job creation.
There is something that makes the Uthiramerur assembly constituency in Kancheepuram district special.
A police constable in Beed, Maharashtra, was detained by the Anti-Corruption Bureau for allegedly demanding a bribe of Rs 2,000.
TVK chief Vijay has released his manifesto for the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections, focusing on women's welfare, education, agriculture, and job creation.
TVK founder Vijay, upon becoming Chief Minister, approved free electricity units and special forces for women's safety and anti-drug efforts. He pledged a commitment to secularism and social justice, asserting his authority as the sole power centre.
As industrial plants boost the village's profile, locals demand priority hiring, alongside better storage facilities and water security.
In bid to woo the three million sugarcane farmers across the state, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati on Tuesday announced a steep hike by Rs 40 to Rs 205 per quintal in the support price of sugarcane.
The DMK party in Tamil Nadu has released its manifesto for the upcoming Assembly elections, promising a range of welfare measures focused on women, education, and economic development, including financial assistance and job creation initiatives.
The Supreme Court rejected a PIL challenging the nationwide rollout of 20% ethanol-blended petrol (EBP-20), citing benefits to sugarcane farmers. The plea alleged incompatibility issues with older vehicles.
Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and insisted on demands pertaining to the state, including on Fair Recovery Price of sugarcane, All India Institute of Medical Sciences for Raichur, the release of flood relief among others.
In addition to the already announced Rs 609 crore (Rs 6.09 billion) assistance to the sugarcane sector, the government said on Monday that it is planning a second package.
The Congress on Friday claimed that a 'silent undercurrent' is brewing across western Uttar Pradesh against the 'failures' of the Modi government, as it flagged issues such as 'neglect' of sugarcane farmers and examination paper leaks.
Nitin Tyagi is a young farmer in Budhagaon village of Baghpat district of Uttar Pradesh. A few years ago, Tyagi left his fairly lucrative job in the medical industry and shifted base to his ancestral village to look after his land and property. He opened a small shop selling farm inputs in the village and also started taking a greater interest in agricultural matters which had so far been looked after by his father and uncles. Tyagi and his brothers primarily grow sugarcane, potato and wheat on nearly 10 acres of land with sugarcane taking up most of his time and effort. Being one of the most important and lucrative cash crops of the region, sugarcane is directly linked to the fate of millions of farmers in west UP and with it, the electoral fortunes of political parties seeking their votes in the coming assembly polls.
'This is not the right way to speak about farmers. How can Kumaraswamy call farmers goondas?'
Land plots filled with wild grasses near Ghazipur, Tikri and Singhu protest sites have been converted into well-curated nurseries with a variety of flowers like marigold and rose.
Asserting that there are no differences between him and his deputy D K Shivakumar, Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah on Tuesday said that they both are running the government unitedly, and will continue to do so in the future too.
They alleged that while the two main political parties in the state -- the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Samajwadi Party -- have 'cheated' them, the other parties are 'ineffective'.
The police on Wednesday lathicharged sugarcane farmers who staged a blockade in Dindanerli on the Kolhapur-Gargoti road while pressing for their demand of better prices for their produce.
The Maharashtra government has requested information regarding the utilization of funds by the Vasantdada Sugar Institute (VSI), led by Sharad Pawar, prompting criticism from the NCP (SP). The government insists it's a routine process, while the opposition alleges political targeting.
Punjab Police thwarted farmers' attempt to go to Chandigarh on the Samyukta Kisan Morcha's call for a week-long dharna beginning Wednesday, as multiple checkpoints were set up across the state and security stepped up at all entry points of the Union Territory.
Ahead of their planned protest in Chandigarh on March 5, several Samyukta Kisan Morcha (SKM) leaders were detained in early morning raids at their residences on Tuesday and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann denounced the agitating farmer unions, saying they have turned Punjab into a 'state of dharnas' and caused huge losses to it.
The Karnataka government has warned that disciplinary action will be taken against those officials who change the land mutation records and serve eviction notices to farmers under the Waqf Act.
The Samyukta Kisan Morcha, an umbrella body of farmer unions, will be holding a mahapanchayat in Lucknow on Monday in a show of strength days after the Prime Minister's announcement of repealing the three farm laws.
The ministry stated that for vehicles designed for E10 and calibrated for E20, mileage may drop by just 1-2 per cent, while in other vehicles, it could be around 3-6 per cent.
'These Marathas are farmers and they only do farming. They have no other business other than farming. Now, they want reservations because farming is no longer a profitable business.'In this interview, veteran farmers' rights advocate and founding member of the Shetkari Sanghatna, Vijay Jawandhia, with Syed Firdaus Ashraf/Rediff unpacks the historical and structural roots of the agitation.
While conditions have improved over the last decade in western UP, there are still unfulfilled needs.
'What the US appears to be doing is to force India to be "the buyer of last resort", on whom their products can be dumped, 1.4 billion people have to eat something, so why not eat American corn?' 'What is exercising the Trump lot is the fact that most of the farms are in solidly Republican Midwestern states: Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, North Dakota, Ohio, South Dakota, Wisconsin,' points out Rajeev Srinivasan.
Former army chief V K Singh, who has assumed an activist's role after retirement, will join a Parliament gherao agitation by sugarcane farmers on Tuesday, its organisers said. The protest has been organised by the Rashtriya Kisan Mazdoor Sangathan and is expected to be joined by farmers' leaders and civil society members.
Singh wrote in the suicide note that the government must repeal these farm laws as these are against the interests of farmers, according to a leader of the Bharatiya Kisan Union.
A case has been registered against Maharashtra BJP minister Radhakrishna Vikhe Patil and 53 others, including directors of a sugar mill, for allegedly obtaining loans of nearly Rs 9 crore in the names of farmers using forged documents. The complaint was filed by a sugarcane cultivator and member of the cooperative sugar mill, alleging that the loan amounts were never credited to the farmers' accounts and were instead siphoned off by sugar mill officials and bank staff. The case was registered based on a court directive following a complaint alleging irregularities that occurred in 2004.
Former Team India hockey stars Rupinder Pal Singh, Gurwinder Singh Chandi and Jugraj Singh are now engaged in a different 'field work' - they are part of the relief and rescue operations in flood-affected Punjab.
Bharatiya Kisan Union leader Rakesh Tikait claimed that the crops are not procured by the government as per the MSP.
